Ceramic knives are a great supplement to your culinary knife collection. You need good stainless steel for cutting hard things like bones or frozen foods, but stainless steel knives need sharpening rather frequently. For cutting softer materials, a ceramic knife can save you time since they are low maintenance kitchen utensils, designed for tasks that you don’t want to continually sharpen your steel over. Here you’ll find plenty of useful information on the various uses of ceramic knives, how to properly maintain them, the different types of ceramic knives and the benefits of using them.
Composition of Ceramic Knives
Don’t let the word ceramic fool you. The ceramic used in knife making isn’t the same stuff as your ceramic vase is made of. What a ceramic knife is made of is zirconium oxide, more commonly referred to as Zirconia. It’s a relatively new man-made material, a high tech material developed when industrial projects required something stronger than steel. Diamond is definitely stronger than steel and you can think of zirconia as a man made-diamond. Zirconia is used to make ceramic knives. This is why they are more durable than steel, which is composed of iron mixed with other metals. Zirconia is often used in dentistry to make crowns and bridges before they cover them in porcelain. You’ve probably heard of cubic zirconia being used as a less expensive substitute for diamonds in jewelry.
Types of Ceramic Knives
Ceramic knives come in all types. Ceramic paring knives are generally used for cutting fruits and vegetables. Ceramic utility knives are more all purpose.
Ceramic chef’s knives are primary utility knives for most chefs. You probably use of at least one of these knives all the time at home. Ceramic bagel knives and ceramic tomato knives are available (Their uses are pretty self explanatory). Pretty much, any knife that a person would use in their kitchen can be found in the ceramic type. You can find ceramic knives in all lengths and sizes, and in nearly all price ranges. High end knives are typically going to be the most durable and chip resistant, however. As with everything else in life, you get what you pay for.
Uses
Ceramic knives are great culinary tools for cutting fruits, vegetables, slicing meats like boneless chicken breasts and steaks that have already been de-boned. They’re a go-to for chefs because they require little to no maintenance. Fruits don’t turn brown as quickly after being cut when a ceramic knife is used because ceramic doesn’t cause a chemical reaction with foods like steel does. Fruits and vegetables contain acids that react to steel blades, causing them to brown quickly. Not so with ceramic. Slicing fruits and vegetables is exactly what ceramic knives do best.
Maintenance
Ceramic knives rarely need to be sharpened, but when they do or if they get seriously chipped, the resharpening can only be done using a powered diamond sharpening wheel. This is because diamond is stronger than zirconia. Some of the sharpening wheels designed for home use also come with a diamond grinding stone that can smooth away any minor chips. Generally, a good knife shop will have a sharpening wheel where you can take your ceramic knife when it does need tending to. Under normal conditions, a ceramic knife can go for years without sharpening. Repairs and sharpening tend to only be necessary when it’s been dropped on a hard surface or used to cut something frozen or with bones in it. It’s best to store them in a knife block or in a sleeve. Typically, you want to wash them by hand instead of risking chipping them in the dishwasher.
Benefits of Using Ceramic Knives
Ceramic knives almost never need sharpening. They’re also stain and rustproof. Because ceramic is a durable substance that can hold up to a lot of wear and tear, a ceramic knife is an excellent choice when you’re looking for a low-maintenance knife. Since they’re not made of metal a ceramic knife is noncorrosive and won’t conduct electricity. A downside of this is that not being magnetic, if you keep your kitchen knives hung on a magnet strip, you might just have to find a drawer for this one instead, or add a hook to your magnetic strip. But you’d be better off keeping your ceramic knives in a butcher’s block anyway. A ceramic knife is excellent for slicing boneless meat, fruits, or vegetables. Basically, anything that is tender is okay for a ceramic knife. Trying to cut into something hard is likely to chip or break it. Ceramic is light, nonporous, rust-resistant and also resists wear very well.
Drawbacks to Using Ceramic Knives
There are a few drawbacks to using ceramic knives. For one thing, you don’t want to ever drop a ceramic knife. If you do, it will almost certainly need repair. Another drawback is that sharpening a ceramic knife does require specialized tools, so unless you buy a diamond sharpening wheel and diamond grinding stone, you’ll have to take your knives in to a specialist for sharpening. As already established, however, that won’t be very often. Still, it is a factor to consider. The other drawback is that they tend to only come in high end quality. That is, you’re not likely to find a quality ceramic knife at some discount store. Finally, a ceramic knife will chip if cut into anything hard like a bone or frozen foods, so make sure you don’t use it for those tasks. Leave those jobs to steel.
Now that you know all about ceramic knives, you’re definitely qualified to go out and buy one, feeling confident that you know what the benefits and drawbacks to ceramic are, what to look for, and what types you might be interested in. The best ceramic knives will need little maintenance, provide quality precision in cutting, and help you be the best chef you can be.